The PHCA has been a fan of singer/songwriter Joy Ike since she played at the first Art What You Got festival last year.  Joy is smart, super-nice, quietly professional and tenacious–she and her band kept playing through a fierce rainstorm, keeping the festival spirit going until the sun came out again.

Joy graduated from Pitt with a communications degree and has been building her music career for the last 3 1/2 years while working fulltime as a publicist.  Her dual careers converge in her blog, Grassrootsy, where she gives practical marketing advice to other independent artists.  She obviously knows what she’s doing; in a few short years she has become a familiar face on the Pittsburgh scene.  Joy performs constantly around (and out of) Pittsburgh, and in 2008, she was voted “Best Artist” and “Best Solo Artist” by the readers of the City Paper.

Joy’s next local performances are on April 24th at the Amani Coffeehouse; April 25, at Frick Park Converge Picnic in the Park; and on April 26th, at Art All Night in Lawrenceville (see what we mean by constant?).

For future shows and news about Joy Ike, check out her excellent website.